Are you getting tired of seeing the same picture(s) here on the blog? I could say I'm sorry not to have more exciting ones to show you, but that's the nature of ice watching. When you think about it, watching ice melting is about as exciting as watching the proverbial paint dry, except lots of people have way more riding on the outcome of the ice.

One thing changed tonight when Fred went to check the clock. He found there is another clock-watcher hanging out at Homer's place. A nice big beaver was swimming around just off the boat ramp, and Fred got a closeup of him (bottom picture) sitting on a rock having a snack. We hope he doesn't decide to take down any of Homer's trees. Beavers can do lots of damage. I expect he is a young beaver that got kicked out of the colony when this year's babies were born. He'll need to find a mate and a suitable place to build his own dam and start a colony. He probably came down one of the brooks to explore the possibilities and won't hang out at the pond very long once people begin to return. He'll head up a different brook or end up at the head of the pond in the channel once the ice is out. In the meantime, we'll be keeping an eye on him. He's a handsome fellow, and looks very healthy.

Fred said he'd heard him several times whacking his tail on the water in a dive, but tonight was the first time he'd gotten a good look at him.